MIRA SCHENDEL
EXHIBITION TATE MODERN
25TH SEPTEMBER 2013-19TH JANUARY 2014
BANKSIDE
LONDON
NEAREST TUBE SOUTHWARK OR WATERLOO
REVIEWER: LAURENCE HUMPHRIES
Mira Schendell is a Brazilian Artist who was born in 1919 and died in 1988. Schendell was born in Milan Italy in 1919 but because of her Jewish ancestry she had to flee Italy and travelled as a refugee and lived in Austria Switzerland and Yugoslavia. In 1949 she emigrated to Brazil and became a Brazilian citizen residing in Sao Paulo where most of her painting and art works are displayed.
In many ways Schendell is an enigma for most twentieth century Art historians as she cannot be bracketed into any school of modern art. Schendell who studied Philosophy used psychology and philosophy to explore her art. As a Jewish person with Italian nationality she questions the central point of human existence. This is displayed in her art which has gone through several phases.
When Schendell arrived in Sao Paulo she derived her artistic influences from George de Chirico and Paul Klee two well-known twentieth century artists. Schendell started using geometric shapes and a flat picture plane, this was very reminiscent of EL Lissitsky the great Soviet artist who had exhibited his famous painting using squares and diagonals in his “Beat the Whites with the Red wedge 1920” [1] Her 1963 untitled composition is typical of Lissitsky’s work at this time “Untitled 1963 oil on canvass Tate” [2].
The use of linear shapes and geometric design shows the influence of Neo-plasticism associated with Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian striving for a pure art which in turn had been influenced by cubism. The objective was always to contract and reduce the picture plane. In Brazil Schendell met Theo Spaudis an art critic and the Philosopher Vilem Flusser , this development created a change in Schendell’s work. “Schendel’s paintings of the 1960’s are characterised by a move towards geometry revealing the influence of concrete painting, a form of abstraction where the composition, free of figurative or symbolic references stresses the artwork as an independent object” [3]
In 1964 the military staged a coup and it became difficult to work as an abstract artist, many artists denounced the coup and pledged themselves to fight for the return of democracy, Schendel is not one of them. Schendel states the following “Those things (practical objects) didn’t function as objects because all that matters was light and shadow” [4]. Schendel changes into another phase of art work still using geometric shapes but adding words and letters, one of her artworks depicts the mythological character of Achilles. “The Return of Achilles, 1964, Oil on canvass” [5]. As you look at the painting you can see a white background with wheels and black lines inscribed in a diagonal fashion ‘Now that I am back’. This shows Schendel using configuration of letters to denote some meaning to the painting. She referred to this as ‘symbol of eternity’. This reference to Achilles shows that Schendel is obviously referring to Homer’s Iliad and that it must signify some form of existenalism.
As she developed her unique form of art Schendel stopped using Oils and starting using rice paper and pencils and ink. She experimented with ink on wet paper trying to blur the effects. Schendel started exploring themes in mystical and eastern religion. Other forms she used was tracing paper inscribing noughts and crosses and developing the use of calligraphy, as her art developed she contacted Max Bense in trying to understand the use of graphic objects an example is “ Graphic Object 1967 transfer lettering and Oil on rice paper” [6].Schendel had now foregone painting and was using objects suspended in space. They were drawings using rice paper. On some of her work she alternated between Letters, scribbling incoherent words with mathematical equations. It was her use of spatial objects using transferable acrylic paper and tubes. One example is her “Untitled from the series Monotypes 1965 oil on paper “[7]. Other examples are explained in the Booklet “These works were a development in Schendel’s delicate drawings on rice paper combined with clear acrylic aiming in their form to create a sense of visual, temporal and spatial transparency” [8] . Schendel is relying on religious and empiricist philosophy as practised by the school of philosophy involving Ludwig Wittgenstein an Empiricist and subjective idealist. Schendel was also influenced by religious thinker foremost amongst them was John Henry Newman (1801-1890). “Schendel’s interest in Newman is related to her reading of Ludwig Wittgenstein an Austrian born British Philosopher who examined the philosophy of mind and language” [9].
As Schendel continued her search for a different art form she started using notebooks with typed writings using circles and algebraic equations. She was questioning the Language systems and investigating letters and signs. “The 1970’s saw Schendel continue to investigate themes of transparency and language, but also mathematics, communication information and game theory” [10]. Also in the 1970’s Schendel used spray painting to effect different images in her drawings. “Homage –to God father of the West 1975” [11]. Further examples of Schendel’s work in the 1970’s is her series the Mandalas using concentric circles with different bright red , yellow and green revolving in a wider circle and rotating in a symmetrical fashion. “Untitled from the series Mandalas 1974 ink and watercolour on paper” [12].
Between 1986-7 Brazil was in a political crisis. There was no evidence that Schendel was as active as other artists were in their struggle against the military. Schendel is an important artist who contributed significantly to the challenges presented to artists in the Twentieth century, her turn to philosophy and the use of mathematical and geometric equations is to be welcomed and her search to understand philosophy is understandable, but she still remains trapped in idealist assumptions about philosophy and life. Her turn inwards to religion is a retrograde step and negates much of her other work which develops new concepts in artistic practices. She remains at the end trapped in subjective ideological thinking. Her failure to act in a principled way during the military coup lessens her importance to me. Her rejection of materialism is her weakness and her art although challenging is negated by her fundamental subjective idealism.
NOTES
- King.D. Russian Revolutionary Posters 2011 Tate publishing
- Tate Modern: On Display
- Mira Schendel: booklet Tate
- Mira Schendel: Booklet Tate
- Tate Modern: On Display
- Tate Modern: On Display
- Tate Modern: On Display
- Mira Schendel: Booklet Tate
- Mira Schendel: Booklet Tate
- Mira Schendel : Booklet Tate
- Tate Modern : On Display
- Tate Modern: On Display
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